Warner in hot water for swing at rival

Chris Barrett and Chloe Saltau

An altercation between David Warner and England's Joe Root in a Birmingham nightclub was triggered by the Australian opener's belief that the Yorkshire batsman was using a fake beard to impersonate South Africa's Muslim cricket star Hashim Amla.

The episode, which led to Warner being stood down from Australia's Champions Trophy match against New Zealand at Edgbaston, took an explosive turn on Wednesday night when details emerged of the lead-up to the early morning incident in which the 26-year-old threw a punch at Root.

Sources told Fairfax Media that Warner was of the belief that Root, 22, had been impersonating Proteas run machine Amla, who is a Muslim, and took objection.

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It is understood the altercation escalated when Warner tried to grab the green and gold wig from Root, who was apparently wearing it as a fake beard. There was no evidence on Wednesday night to suggest that Root was in fact trying to impersonate Amla.

It also emerged on Wednesday that Australian one-day teammate Clint McKay had broken up the pair following what England management described as an ''unprovoked physical attack'' on the 22-year-old from Yorkshire about 2am on Sunday.

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The incident, which occurred at the Australian-themed Walkabout following the team's 48-run defeat to England on Saturday, leaves Warner in hot water for the second time in three weeks after he was fined $5750 over a Twitter tirade at journalists last month.

Fairfax Media was told he was at the Birmingham venue with Australian teammates including McKay, Glenn Maxwell, Phil Hughes, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh.

Late withdrawal: David Warner warms up for the match against New Zealand. Photo: Getty Images

The 26-year-old is understood to have thrown a ''glancing blow'' that scraped the chin of young England batsman Root, who was at the establishment with teammates including Stuart Broad. Sources said McKay had dragged Warner away from Root to bring a stop to the altercation. It is believed alcohol was a factor.

Root was not injured and took his place at England training at The Oval on Wednesday. Warner, meanwhile, trained with the Australian team in the warm-up to the match against New Zealand.

In strife: David Warner in discussion with coach Mickey Arthur during Australia's nets session at Edgbaston. Photo: Getty Images

The England and Wales Cricket Board released a statement on Wednesday, confirming that: ''David Warner initiated an unprovoked physical attack on a member of the England team in a Birmingham bar following England's 48-run victory over Australia.

''Warner has admitted behaving inappropriately and has since apologised to the player involved who has accepted the apology.

It was not clear on Wednesday what further action would be taken against the NSW opener but it was considered unlikely that he would be sent home from the tour of England, where Australia will attempt to win back the Ashes starting on July10 at Trent Bridge. It is possible, however, he could be suspended for the remainder of the Champions Trophy campaign.

Warner was only last month reprimanded for a social media rant against News Ltd journalists.

The latest incident continues a tradition of indiscretions on recent British tours. In 2005, Andrew Symonds was suspended for turning up drunk, and stumbling on a wheelie-bin, before Australia's embarrassing loss to Bangladesh in a one-day match, which preceded the Ashes.

Four years later, Symonds was sent home and had his CA contract cancelled for breaking team rules during the World Twenty20, which also preceded the Ashes. Neither tour ended well for Australia, with decisive series losses.

Warner's altercation with an Ashes opponent comes amid serious concerns about the culture of the team, which spilled into the public realm when four players were stood down for failing to do their homework during the disastrous 4-0 series loss to India.

It doesn't help that Warner has endured a horrendous few months on the field, and is coming off scores of 0,0 and 9 in the first three games of the tour. Warner had an early black mark against his name for being kicked out of the Centre of Excellence when he was 20 for having a messy room, a setback he described as a wake-up call.